Georgian shares low amateur honors in U.S. Women's Open
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Posted 7:38PM on Sunday, July 7, 2002
HUTCHINSON, KANSAS - Angela Jerman walked up to her ball on the sloping fringe of the 18th green in the U.S. Women's Open Sunday, thinking she needed to chip in for birdie to tie for low amateur honors. <br>
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So she aimed for the pin, rolled it past and ended up making her putt for par. Then came a pleasant surprise: she found she had tied Aree Wongluekeit for the best score by an amateur. <br>
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``I'll take a tie,'' Jerman said, smiling. ``That works.'' <br>
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Jerman and Wongluekeit finished at 14-over 294. They were the only amateurs to make the cut. <br>
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``After I made the cut, that was definitely one of my goals, to be the low amateur,'' said Jerman, a 22-year-old from Columbus, Ga. ``I had a couple of shots on the back nine that got away from me, but overall I felt good about my game. <br>
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``That's what an Open course is supposed to do. It's supposed to catch you off guard. It caught me off guard.'' <br>
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Wongluekeit, 16, was born in Thailand and now lives in Bradenton, Fla. She was playing in the Open for the first time and learned it can be an exhausting experience. <br>
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``I woke up this morning and felt like a truck ran over my legs,'' she said. ``I just felt really sore, but I got moving and was better.'' <br>
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Wongluekeit birdied No. 17 to go 13-under, but a bogey on the last hole cost her the amateur honor outright.